Murdo criticises budget in Scottish Parliament

Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP and Shadow Finance Minister, Murdo Fraser, has slammed the Scottish Government’s draft budget today labelling it one that prohibits growth and chokes off investment.

Attached below are excerpts from Murdo’s speech:

…The Finance Secretary had a choice going in to today’s debate. He could come with us, drop his plans to make Scotland the highest taxed part of the United Kingdom, and

work together to deliver an ambitious Budget focussed on growing the economy. Or he could turn sharp Left, and embrace the anti-growth, anti-business agenda of the

Greens. What a pity, what a tragedy for Scotland, that he chose to throw in his lot with the lentil-munching, sandal-wearing watermelons on that side of the Chamber.

…Mr MacKay was well warned by the business community as to the consequences of going further on tax than he originally intended. Yesterday the Scottish Chambers of

Commerce described such a move as ‘highly dangerous’. Today, he and his Government have shown contempt for the views of Scottish business, and have

demonstrated that they have zero interest in trying to help grow our underperforming economy. They might as well put up a sign at the Border: ‘Scotland closed for business’.

…Derek MacKay has so many advantages with this Budget. He is a lucky man, firstly, because he has more money to play with than ever before. By his own admission, his budget for the coming year is up, in real terms, by some £501 million. That’s half a billion pounds he has to spend in the coming year more than he had in this one.

…We hear a lot in these budget debates from the SNP benches about Tory cuts, and Westminster austerity. But we now know that the reality is somewhat different. The Scottish Government’s own documentation tells us that, both in cash terms and real terms, the total Scottish government budget for the coming year is up on the previous high point of 2010-11. When it comes to total managed expenditure, there is not a cut to be seen.

…But it is not just because he has money at his disposal which his predecessors could only dream of that Derek Mackay is a lucky man. He is lucky because he has a greater range of powers over taxation than any Finance Minister before, a great opportunity to use these to build an ambitious budget, a budget for growth, a budget that will expand the tax base, a budget worthy of the extensive fiscal powers put at his disposal.

…Sadly, in place of that ambition we have a weak, hesitant, dismal set of measures, together mounting to a budget which tells us nothing about the type of Scotland we want to see, a budget which will see local services slashed while Council Taxes are being hiked, a budget which cuts funding to the Enterprise Networks and reinforces reductions in college places when we should be doing the opposite, and a budget that will make Scotland the highest taxed part of the United Kingdom, scaring away investment, and sending out a message that the risk-taker, the wealth creator, the entrepreneur, and the successful are not welcome here.

… this should have been a budget to grow the economy. Our growth rates today are one third of the UK average. Our unemployment rates are higher, our employment rates are lower, and our business confidence is well below the UK as a whole. These are the key issues that this budget should be addressing, and instead it will simply make matters worse.

…As the economy grows so tax revenues will grow with it. Our own research has shown that if Scottish growth had matched UK average figures since 2007, our Gross Domestic Product would have been £3.1 billion higher over the last ten years, that equates to nearly £1300 for every Scottish household.

…If we simply raised the proportion of higher and additional rate tax payers to the UK average then the Scottish finances would stand to benefit by more than £600 million a year in extra revenue, and what a difference that would make to the Finance Secretary’s spending power.

…So this budget today is a huge missed opportunity. It fails to address the problem of our underperforming economy. It cuts support to local government, which will mean that services are being reduced at a time when the council Tax is soaring. And it sends out a message that Scotland is the highest taxed part of the United Kingdom.